Etymology

Webelos

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Today it means: A young scout in the Boy Scouts of America who is working his way up to the Boy Scouts. Full definition →

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The story

An invented term that originated in the Boy Scouts of America c. 1954. The Bear Cub Scout Book of 1954 claims that "Webelos" is an American Indian tribe of which Akela is chief, and that the name comes from "Wolf, Bear, Lion, Scout." The rank of Lion Scout was later dropped, but the term "Webelos" was kept. Through folk etymology, it is now commonly stated that the term derives from "we'll be loyal Scouts," although this was not the term's original meaning.http://books.google.com/books?id=Nf0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA4&dq=webelo+scout+%22wolf%22+bear+lion&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fXSNUN_-C9S80QHW6IGYAg&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=webelo%20scout%20%22wolf%22%20bear%20lion&f=false

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.